Great Dun Fell

11 miles (18 km)

This walk takes you to the second-highest hill in the Pennines, and makes use of Britain's highest road.You start in the village of Dufton and follow the Pennine Way along Hurning Lane to Cosca Hill where you cross Great Rundale Beck. You continue the ascent, crossing Swindale Beck and passing a series of Cairns before arriving at Green Fell. Here you turn left and head to the summit of Great Dun Fell where you will find a a large radar station at the 848 m (2,782 ft) high point. There are also wonderful views across the Eden Valley, Cross Fell and North Pennines AONB.From the summit you descend on Britain's highest road which takes you all the way to Knock Village, passing Green Castle and Knock Pike on the way. The final section follows a country lane from Knock to the finish point at Dufton.The complete route below is designed for walkers but Great Dun is a very popular climb for cyclists as you can make use of the tarmac road that runs from Knock to the summit (it is essentially the descent section of this route). It is considered by many cyclists to be the greatest climb in Britain. Click here for the gpx file which just includes the tarmac road climb for cyclists. Also see the video below to see what you can expect!If you're looking to continue your walking in the area then you could climb Cross Fell - the highest hill in the country, outside of the Lake District. Also nearby is the lovely Cow Green Reservoir and Cauldron Snout waterfall. You can also visit High Cup Nick waterfall set in a spectacular glacial valley.